German rapid transit system / WED 11-14-18 / Mag for docs / Muse featured in Xanadu / Hypothetical body in the solar system beyond Nepture / Western flick in old parlance / Govt org dating from 1930s

Constructor: Sam Trabucco

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium (3:45)

THEME: GROW A BEARD (57A: Do the opposite of shave ... as suggested by the circled letters)— first words of themers (in circled squares) "grow" into a "beard" by the time we get to the revealer (though there, the circled squares form the *last* word):

Theme answers:

• B FLAT MAJOR (16A: Key for five Mozart piano concertos)
• BE YOURSELF (22A: "Just act natural!")
• BEA ARTHUR (34A: "The Golden Girls" actress)
• BEAR TRACKS (47A: Worrisome sign around a campsite)

Word of the Day: UBAHN (23D: German rapid transit system) —

The Berlin U-Bahn ([uː.baːn]; short for Untergrundbahn, "underground railway") is a rapid transit railway in Berlin, the capital city of Germany, and a major part of the city's public transport system. Together with the S-Bahn, a network of suburban train lines, and a tram network that operates mostly in the eastern parts of the city, it serves as the main means of transport in the capital. (WIKIpedia)

Over a minute faster than yesterday. Very much helped out by the theme (in that by the time I got to the bottom of the grid, I was able to write in BEA and thus get BEAR TRACKS very easily, and then getting the revealer was a cinch). The corners felt a little open, and thus a little tough, but on balance this thing definitely came in on the easy side. Not sure how I feel about this incrementally-adding-a-letter thing. The concept isn't that scintillating, and the themers don't even have that much stand-alone charm (I mean, I love BEA ARTHUR, but the rest are just OK). The revealer, too, struck me as a bit anemic. Very "EAT A SANDWICH." I was much more intrigued by the fill than I was by the theme. THAT GUY, BEER HAT, JOB FAIR, JANELLE Monáe and "OH, JOY" all gave the puzzle a lively personality. IRAIL (!?) sounds much more like a "rapid transit system" than UBAHN, and PLANET X sounds more like a '30s sci-fi pulp story than an actual thing, but I don't think there are many parts of the grid that are significant stumbling blocks. All in all, a little wobbly, but enjoyable. Here's a grid that my friend Christopher Adams did a few months ago—similar concept, but in reverse:


JAMES BEARD > GROW A BEARD. If NYT puzzles had titles (which they should) then the title could've carried the burden of theme indication and that last themer could've been something more interesting. The lack of titles really does limit puzzling possibilities. It's an invisible deficiency, but a deficiency nonetheless. All tournament puzzles have titles. Sunday puzzles have titles. WSJ puzzles have titles. Because they are fun and (more importantly) useful. They liberate your grid, or at least give you more options for realizing your theme idea.


Know your crosswordese: OATER! (29D: Western flick in old parlance) It is another word for a western (movie). I know this because I do crosswords (though I have occasionally heard the word in the wild) (though I also watch a ton of TCM and I'm not sure if that counts as "the wild"). OATER is an anagram of another important piece of crosswordese, which is also in this puzzle: ERATO. They are both anagrams of ORATE, which is a normal word that humans use, so no need to go into it here. As for ERATO, I'm not sure this clue is so great (45A: Muse featured in "Xanadu"). The muse that's "featured" in "Xanadu" is Terpsichore (the 'real' name of the main character, Kira, played by Olivia Newton-John—please subscribe to my "Xanadu" podcast and newsletter, I have so much more to say about that ridiculous movie, which somehow costars Gene Kelly (!) and yet features truly terrible dance numbers)


Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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